....««$%£#                                          #£%$««....
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
...,††$§§£                                          £§§$††,...
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£##                Winds esker               ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ##£§%$†«,.
......«$%§                                          §%$«......
.,«†$%§£## There Was This  Place That For Two Years ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## I Couldn'T  Go To.  Regardless How  Much ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§### Discussed With  Others,  Or Pointed  Out ###§%$†«,.
....,††%££ On Maps,  I Could  Not Think Of It  When ££%††,....
.,«†$$$§§# Alone. I  Would  Often  Travel  Past The #§§$$$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Fork,  Where A  Right  Turn Would Surely ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§££# Take Me There, But Even Then,  Something #££§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£##              Kept Me Away.               ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.....,«†$§ When I Finally  Got  There,  After  Some §$†«,.....
....«$$%§£     Heavy Subconscious Battle I Must     £§%$$«....
.....,†%§# Assume,  The   Place  Was   Surreal.  An #§%†,.....
.,«†$%§£## Esker, Like  A Needle-Thin  Rift Out  In ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†%§£### The  Lake,  But  Ten   Meters  High  And ###£§%†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Adorned In  Birch, Willow, Bracken,  And ##£§%$†«,.
.....,,†%£               Blueberries.               £%†,,.....
.,«†$§£###                                          ###£§$†«,.
.,«†$%£### Walking  Atop  That  Spine,  I  Came  To ###£%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Notice  The  View To Either  Side. There ##£§%$†«,.
.....«$§§£ Should  Be  Shores,  Of  Course,  But  I £§§$«.....
.,,,«†%§§£ Didn'T Recognize Them. First  Off,  They £§§%†«,,,.
.,«†$$%§§£ Were Much Too Close,  As The Lake Should £§§%$$†«,.
.....,†%§£ Stretch  For A  Hundred Meters  More  On £§%†,.....
.,«†$%§£## Both Sides.  But  Now  I  Felt  I  Could ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Almost Reach  Out  And  Touch  Them. And ##£§%$†«,.
....«$%%£# Then,  When I Realized Which Shores They #£%%$«....
...,«†$§£#           Were, I Had To Stop.           #£§$†«,...
...,†$$$%£                                          £%$$$†,...
...,,†$§£# They  Were Of The Right Lake.  But  This #£§$†,,...
.,«†$%§£##       Lake Is Large, Fractured, And      ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Bipartite.  Like  A Pair Of Lungs Carved ##£§%$†«,.
...,†$$$§§ Into The Granite, And  With No Less Than §§$$$†,...
......«$§§   Five Communities Anchored At Various   §§$«......
.,«†$%§£##      Points. And So, Studying These      ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£##     Impossibly Close Shores, I Slowly    ##£§%$†«,.
....,«$§£# Understood  Them As Belonging Many Miles #£§$«,....
.....,«$$§                  Away.                   §$$«,.....
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%£### I  Examined   The  Ridge,  The  Treeline ###£%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Above. Was This What You  Saw  Opposite, ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## From  Those  Other  Shores?  I  Couldn'T ##£§%$†«,.
...««††%§§                 Remember.                §§%††««...
.....,†$$§                                          §$$†,.....
.....,†%§# Carrying  Forward, On  The  Very Tip  Of #§%†,.....
.,«†$%§£££ The  Esker, I  Found The Ruins  Of  Some £££§%$†«,.
....,††$§#    Old Building. There Were Overgrown    #§$††,....
...,,†$%£# Marble Staircases, Stone Floors Beneath  #£%$†,,...
....,«$$§# The  Moss, And  Strange  Slabs  Inserted #§$$«,....
.,«†$%§£## Into  The  Slope  Like Dams Against  The ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§§§£              Ground Itself.              £§§§%$†«,.
.,««†††$%£                                          £%$†††««,.
....,«†$§£ Sitting There, I Could  See  Across  The £§$†«,....
.,,«†††%§# Narrowed Lake  My Entire Path To Where I #§%†††«,,.
...,††††%§ Sat:  From  The  Stairwell Of  My House, §%††††,...
......«†%£ Through  The Old Woods Behind  The  Tile £%†«......
.,«†$%§§§£      Factory, The Bridge Over Route      £§§§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Twenty three  And  Then  Back Under  It, ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Through  The   Fancy  Villas,  Over  The ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## Fields, And  Then That Right Turn At The ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†%§£###                   Fork.                  ###£§%†«,.
.,«†$%%%££                                          ££%%%$†«,.
.,«†$%§§§£ And  Then The Stairs  Up  On  The Ridge. £§§§%$†«,.
....,«$%§# Thinking  Back,  This  Was Probably  It. #§%$«,....
..,««†$%%£ Hidden  In A  Grove,  There Were  Stairs £%%$†««,..
.,«†$%§£££ Much Like The Ones  I Currently Sat  On, £££§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§### Old And  Worn  Down,  That  Lead You  Up ###§%$†«,.
...,,,†%§§ Onto The Esker. The Point Of Entry.  Had §§%†,,,...
..,,«$$%§£ I  Insted Opted  To Walk The Path At Its £§%$$«,,..
....,««$§£ Foot,  I'M Sure  My  Experience Would'Ve £§$««,....
...,†††$%§          Been Different Indeed.          §%$†††,...
...,†††$%£                                          £%$†††,...
.«†$%§£### «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ###£§%$†«.
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£## On  The   Lake,  There  Were  People  In ##£§%$†«,.
.....«†$%§ Boats.  I Wondered, Could They  Even See §%$†«.....
...,†††$§# Me? If I Shouted,  Would  They  Turn  To #§$†††,...
..,,†$$%%£         Stare Right Through Me?          £%%$$†,,..
.,«†$%§£##                                          ##£§%$†«,.
.,«†$$$$§§                                          §§$$$$†«,.
...,««$%%§                                          §%%$««,...
.,«†$%§£££                                          £££§%$†«,.
.,«†$%§£££                                          £££§%$†«,.